Too Much Oil = Too Much Trouble
Too Much of a Good Thing: Why Overfilling Your Engine Oil is a Costly Mistake Engine oil is often described as ...
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To grease or not to grease!
Over-greasing vs under-greasing: which one does more damage? When it comes to bearing lubrication, striking the right balance is crucial. But ...
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Tiny Contaminants, Big Consequences
Protect Your Hydraulic System from Hidden Killers Hydraulic oil is the lifeblood of your hydraulic system — and just like blood, ...
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Flushing your engine
It’s a question many vehicle owners ask: Should I flush my engine? The short answer? Probably not—as long as you’re following ...
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Multigrade vs Monograde oil
Multigrade vs Monograde Oil: Understanding Engine Protection Through Viscosity Motor oil plays a critical role in engine health, with its primary ...
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Heat transfer oil
Hot stuff: Keep industrial systems running smoothly In industrial systems where temperature control is key, heat transfer oil is the quiet ...
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Chainsaw oil
Cutting Edge Care: Keep Your Saw Sharp and Running Smooth Chainsaws are among the most powerful and versatile tools used in ...
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AW & EP Additives pt2
When the Pressure’s On: How EP Additives Step Up to Protect Your Equipment Welcome to part two of our blog series ...
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AW & EP Additives
Understanding anti-wear additives Lubricants are more than just oils—they’re complex formulations enhanced with chemical additives to perform under demanding conditions. Two ...
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Water in oil
Is Water Wrecking Your Engine? Water contamination in automotive oil is a serious issue that can lead to severe engine damage ...
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Air Tool Lubrication
The Secret to Smooth-Running Pneumatic Tools Air tools, also known as pneumatic tools, are a class of power tools driven by ...
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Oil filter clogging
The Impact of a Clogged Oil Filter: Signs, Symptoms, and Why It Matters When it comes to maintaining your vehicle’s engine ...
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Chain lubrication
Keeping the Links Alive: The Art of Proper Chain Lubrication Chains are everywhere. From bicycle gears to forklift mechanisms, and from ...
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Overheating
Can Low Oil Cause Your Engine to Overheat? Absolutely — Here’s Why.When we think of engine overheating, we often blame low ...
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Base oils
Understanding Synthetic Base Oils: A Closer LookBase oils form the foundation of all lubricants, making them a critical component in ensuring ...
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Sludge
Understanding Engine Sludge: Causes, Fixes, and PreventionEngine sludge is a serious issue that can cause major problems for your vehicle if ...
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Aeration and foaming
Foaming and air entrainment in lubricating oil circulation systems are more common than you might think. Left unchecked, they can lead ...
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Engine oil deterioration
Engine oil deterioration and deposits: what you need to know! In our previous blog, we explored the issue of soot in ...
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Soot in engine oil
Soot is a by-product of combustion and is present in all used engine oils. Soot is generated as a result of ...
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Two-stroke oil lubrication – part 3
If you take a close look at the label on a two-stroke (2T) oil container, it is very likely that you ...
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Two-stroke oil lubrication – part 2
When it comes to two-stroke or two-cycle (2T) engine oil every two-stroke enthusiast is an ‘expert’. Some old-timers still believe castor ...
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Two-stroke oil
Two-stroke or two-cycle (2T) petrol engines have very specific lubrication requirements. The reason for this is that 2T engines have much ...
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Lubricant shelf life
It is often asked what the acceptable storage life for lubricants and associated products is. Regrettably there is no simple straightforward ...
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High Temps, High Sheer Viscosity
Our previous blog dealt with Fuel Economy and Wear in engines as well as the impact of the SAPS (sulphated ash, ...
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Engine Oil Fuel Economy vs Wear
In this blog we debate a rather controversial topic: Fuel Economy vs Wear in engines. It is often believed engine oils ...
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Smooth turns ahead – LSD
Without a limited slip differential (diff) cars, trucks and off-road vehicles cannot turn without their inner driving wheels spinning or the ...
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Slideway lubricants
In this blog, we will endeavour to explain what slideway lubricants are, their functions and how they work. Slideway oils derive ...
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Metal working fluids pt 2
Manufacturers with metalworking operations and machine shops use and dispose of a substantial amount of metalworking fluid each year. These operations ...
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Metal working fluids
Metalworking is a collective name for a variety of machining processes whereby metal is brought to a specified geometry by removing ...
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Detergent dispersant additives
Motor oil deteriorates during its life in the engine due to oxidation. This results in sludge, varnish and resins that become ...
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Viscosity Index Improvers
The Viscosity of a fluid is its resistance to flow. It is generally perceived as “thickness”. The higher the viscosity, the ...
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Cylinder bore glazing
In our previous blog we spoke about bore polishing in diesel engines. Now the question is what is the difference between ...
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The hidden damage lurking in your engine
Q8 Formula Truck 7000 15W40, our new top tier heavy duty diesel engine oil, is designed to protect engines against bore ...
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TBN Talk – what is your oil trying to tell you!
Total Base Number (TBN), sometimes referred to as Base Number (BN), is an important property of engine oil. TBN is a ...
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Fluid power – harness the strength of hydraulic oil!
The two primary considerations when selecting a hydraulic fluid are the viscosity grade and the hydraulic oil type. These are typically ...
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Chill factor – Borderline Pumping Temperature (BPT)!
The viscosity of lubricating oil becomes progressively higher as the temperature of the oil is lowered until it becomes too thick ...
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Smooth operator – the magic of automatic transmission fluid!
Modern Automatic Transmission Fluids (ATF’s) are formulated with the most complex chemistry of all lubricating fluids. During the late 1930’s General ...
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Brake fluid – small bottle, big impact!
The brake system is possibly the most neglected component of motorcars. Most drivers check tyre pressures and change engine oil at ...
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Unlocking Mining’s Power with Lubricating Oils
Lubricating oils play a critical role in the mining industry, ensuring the smooth and efficient operation of machinery under some of ...
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The journey of oil inside the engine
We have all seen bright and clear fresh oil being poured into an engine when a vehicle is serviced or when ...
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Antifreeze engine coolants
Research has indicated that up to 60% of all engine failures are related to the engine cooling system and ultimately to ...
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Pour point of lubricating oil
With winter approaching it is now an apt time to discuss the Pour Point of lubricants. The pour point of a ...
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Lubrication Regimes
The regimes of lubrication can be compared to water skiing. Skiers normally start by entering the water with their skis on ...
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Compressor Lubrication pt 2
This blog continues on from Blog 18 where we looked at compressor lubrication… The lubrication requirements of positive displacement compressors are ...
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Breathe in…Breathe out!
A compressor can be described as a pump or other device that ‘inhales’ air and delivers it at a higher pressure. ...
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Optimal control on the trails
Hydraulic brake fluid plays a crucial role in the performance and safety of mountain bikes. Specially designed for hydraulic braking systems, ...
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Long Life 5W-30 oil
Q8 Formula Special G Long Life 5W-30 is a new generation synthetic engine oil designed for use in modern, high performance ...
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Protecting critical engine parts
An engine is assembled from many individual parts. Ensuring a good oil flow to critical areas is essential to guarantee the ...
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Grease oil separation
When you open a container of lubricating grease, chances are you may see a thin layer of oil at the top ...
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Universal tractor lubricants
Tractors don’t come up on our radar screens all that often but modern farm equipment is a far cry from the ...
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Gear Oil & Synchronised Transmissions
One of the most frequent questions that comes up around gear oil is “Can GL-5 gear oils be used in vehicles ...
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Decoding Gear Oil
The API (American Petroleum Institute) defines automotive gear lubricant service designations to assist manufacturers and users of automotive equipment in the ...
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Unveiling Motor Oil
Motor oil is a lubricant used in internal combustion engines to reduce friction and provide essential protection to engine components. There ...
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ACEA Oil Sequences pt 2
The ACEA Oil Sequences describe, amid others, “E” category service-fill oils for heavy duty diesel engines. These sequences define the minimum ...
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ACEA Oil Sequences pt 1
ACEA is the abbreviation for the Association des Constructeurs Européens d’Automobiles or the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association in English. Among many ...
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API Petrol Engine Oil Classifications
In the early days of the automobile, engine oils were classified by viscosity grade only. By 1930 vehicle manufacturers, however, ...
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Engine oil composition
The prime functions of engine oil are to lubricate, cool, clean, protect and seal. In the early days of the automobile ...
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Industrial gear oil classification
The American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA) has gone a step further than the ISO 3448 viscosity classification system for industrial oils ...
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Industrial oil viscosity classification
After the industrial revolution many classification systems were devised to designate viscosity grades for lubricants used in manufacturing and other industrial ...
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Automotive Gear Lubricant Viscosity Classification
The SAE J306 standard specifies viscosity limits for the classification of automotive gear lubricants. SAE J306 viscosity grades should not be ...
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SAE Viscosity Grades for Engine Oils
The earliest attempts to classify motor oils were made when automobiles first appeared. Even at this early stage, viscosity was recognized ...
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Viscosity and Viscosity Index
Viscosity is probably the single most important property of oil in terms of lubrication but what is viscosity really? Informally viscosity ...
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Lubricant Base Oil
In most instances lubricating oil is a blend of base oil and additives with the base oil content being anything between ...
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How the Covid-19 Pandemic impacted the Lubricant Industry
OilChat has been out of circulation for some time due to Covid-19 ramifications, but it is now back on track with this ...
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Slideway Lubricants OilChat#39
In this edition of the newsletter, we will endeavour to explain what slideway lubricants are, their functions and how they work. ...
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Metalworking Fluid Management OilChat#38
Manufacturers with metalworking operations and machine shops use and dispose of a substantial amount of metalworking fluid each year. These operations ...
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Metal Working Fluids OilChat#37
Metalworking is a collective name for a variety of machining processes whereby metal is brought to a specified geometry by removing ...
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